According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, officials from the NBA’s player union began reaching out on Tuesday to determine how interested players in the league are in finishing the season.
“National Basketball Players Association regional representatives started texting NBA players today with a ‘yes or no’ question it says will be kept confidential: Do you want to try and play again this season?,” Wojnarowski wrote on Twitter. “The union’s trying to gauge broader sentiment of its 400-plus players. Some teams received the question as part of a group text that included the entire roster. One rep asked a team’s players: ‘Do you want to try and play this season, yes or no?’ Another rep worded to a different group: ‘Do you want the season to start again?’”
Following Wojnarowski’s report, the NBPA denied any “formal” polling had been conducted.
The National Basketball Players Association has released a statement to @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium: “The NBPA is not engaging in and has not authorized any formal poll of its players.”
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 12, 2020
The discrepancy between the conflicting reports could be as simple as whether the texts which are being sent are “formal” or not. Regardless, it sounds as if the league and the union are working toward reaching a decision about if and when the NBA will resume its season.
Sources: The NBA and NBPA are forming a working group and have a call Tuesday to discuss return-to-play strategies; will include NBPA president Chris Paul and players Russell Westbrook, Jayson Tatum, Kyle Lowry, Dwight Powell.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 12, 2020
The alleged texts Wojnarowski is talking about were sent following a conference call on Friday between NBPA officials including president Chris Paul, players in the league and commissioner Adam Silver where topics including health, finances and what a potential return to play would look like were discussed.
During the call, Silver told players it was most likely the season could begin with teams playing games in one or two locations, possibly Orlando or Las Vegas.
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